A view shows Israelis protesting, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s nationalist coalition government presses on with its judicial overhaul, in Tel Aviv, Israel March 25, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Oren Alon

i24 News – Israelis opposed to the judicial reform proposed by the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took to the streets for the twentieth week on Saturday. Last weekend saw the protest movement’s first enforced hiatus due to the escalation in Gaza and the rocket attacks by the Islamic Jihad terrorist group.

As per custom, the main event in Tel Aviv kicked off on the central Kaplan street. In previous weeks, the event has seen massive turnouts, including an estimated 200,000 people in the Tel Aviv rally alone.

Dozens of demonstrations on a smaller scale took place across the country.

In a statement released earlier in the day, protest organizers said the Netanyahu government sought to turn Israel into a “messianic and dangerous dictatorship.”

They underlined what they said was the economic cost of the government’s refusal to ditch the reforms altogether, instead holding talks with opposition representatives hosted by President Isaac Herzog for the past month.

“As long as the deliberations in the president’s house continue, no investment is entering Israel and the Israeli economy is crashing,” the organizers said.

Proponents of the judicial reforms claim they are necessary to rebalance power between the branches of government. Critics say they represent a threat to democracy.